In this blog, Maxine from Relyon Services shows us how to say ‘no’ to boring health and safety videos!
“Picture the scene: a stuffy meeting room on the first day of your new job.
You were really looking forward to starting this role, but out comes the dreaded health and safety video… for some reason, I always picture in my mind a large TV – not a flat screen LCD or whatever the new technology is these
days, but an old-style machine that’s wheeled out on a trolley with a VHS player underneath.
Maybe I am showing my age, but you get the idea. In pops the VHS or disc and there you have it; the
most boring video you have ever seen, going over basic health and safety in the workplace.
There is always that main character who, if we are honest, we have no idea how he was considered for
employment (even if it is just a training video). This is the point where you switch off and tell
yourself “I know all this” and “what could ever be in this video that I actually need to know”.
My question is, why are businesses still using this sort of video?
Well the answer is simple: health and safety is a minefield, and video is such a great medium by
which to provide information and instruction to staff. They don’t need to sit down and read a wordy
pamphlet… ok, so we all know people just pop them in their top drawer of their desk never to see the
light of day again! It also allows a business to convey a considerable amount of information into a short
snappy way.
I’m going to use the C word now… COVID-19.
Businesses are now starting to go through the steps to get their workforce back into the workplace. Hand-in-hand with doing this comes the risk assessments, which you must complete to show you have considered the risks, and that you have put controls in place to reduce the one risk we are all well aware of – exposing others to this virus.
So, changes will need to be made to the workplace, one-way systems implemented in workplaces where this is feasible, signage reminders to stay 2 meters apart, hand sanitiser and the reducing the numbers of persons permitted in your welfare facilities at any given time.
When you have done all of the above, you now need to educate your staff about how this will work. This is where a video is perfect – you can show staff the routes they will take, the changes made, when they need to use sanitiser, how to use welfare facilities safely, and generally relieve the anxiety which staff will obviously be feeling before their return to the workplace.
Its so important to communicate with your staff about your latest health and safety initiatives, so why not do it in an
engaging and fun way which is completely in line with your businesses culture? Perhaps try animation to add life to a dry subject, or on-screen graphics to engage your audience. There’s no reason why health and safety videos can’t be watchable – and the most your team absorb the content, the safer and happier you’ll all be.
Say no to boring safety videos, and put a little thought into it with film.”
For advice on how to make health and safety engaging for your staff, contact Maxine Targett of Relyon
Safety Services on [email protected] or 07548230618.
If you’re ready to make health and safety videos engaging and brand-appropriate, get in touch today to discuss the potential.
Want more?
Find out more about creating health and safety videos for the workplace here.
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